Sickly Sweet

Discovering The Truth

Sophie sunk to the ground, defeated. Who was that little girl? And why did she insist that Martek was dead? She needed answers.

Tip-toeing to the back of the house, Sophie peered through the window. The girl was talking on the phone, seemingly in an argument. Sophie pressed her ear to the window.

"But you don't understand!" the girl whined. "Dad, it's really me, I swear, and I need your help! No, not like that. Dad! Dad?"

She sighed and hung up the phone. Sophie ducked just as the girl looked out the window, thinking she saw something. Shrugging her shoulders, she pivoted and walked out of the kitchen.

Sophie let out a deep sigh of relief. Creeping to the crystal back door, she peered through and examined the room. The girl had left the phone on a pink counter near her. Next to the phone was a key ring, with one key in particular stranded from the rest.

It was large, heart-shaped, and looked important. If only she could get to it, she might be able to figure out what it unlocked.

The sound of running water filled her ears. Either the girl was showering or bathing, and it ought to distract her from what Sophie was about to do next. Sprinting to the small garden in the backyard, she grabbed the hoe Martek had left there and heaved it on her shoulder.

Carefully running toward the door at high speed, Sophie winced and braced for the impact.

"CrAsH!"

She broke through the door and it made a much louder sound than anticipated. The water stopped running and she heard creaks from upstairs. The girl was on the move.

Careful not to step on the shattered crystal, Sophie rushed to the counter and grabbed the keys and the phone. In her haste, on her way back she had forgotten to look for the bits of the broken door and let out a high-pitched squeal as her foot was impaled with the sharp stone.

Pitterpat-pat-pitterpat-pat-pitterpat-pat

Sounds of a light body rushing down the stairs floated to Sophie. Holding back tears, she limped out the broken entrance, careful not to step on more glass. Just as she made it safely on the patio she heard an enraged,"Hey!" and picked up the pace.

She ran to the front of the house, prepared to sprint across the drawbridge. Pausing for a short moment, she plucked out the crystal chunk with one hand and held her prizes tight with the other. Turning back to the bridge, she gasped in shock.

It was now nonexistent, the last plank being loaded into a compartment near the doorway mechanically. Sophie turned to see if the girl was behind her and sure enough, she was only five or six yards away.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm her nerves, Sophie closed her eyes and stepped close to the moat.

"Hey, you! Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

She was not at all far behind now, only a couple more steps. Time slowed as Sophie breathed in and out, in and out. She felt a small hand lash at her midsection and made her final decision.

Crouching as low as she could go, Sophie leaped as far as she could, hoping to maybe reach the other side. But it was not possible. She landed about two-thirds of the way across, swimming in the red mist.

The feeling was worse than any sensation she ever had. It was like drowning, but the opposite. The mist curled down her throat, settled in her stomach, and crept back up to her vocal cords.

The burning smoke occupying her lungs brought tears to her eyes and she couldn't breathe, but Sophie forced herself to go on. Swimming through the mist, she let herself slowly lose control of her body.